Who Knew? 5 Insects That Are Actually Kind of Cute

Bugs on cartoon aren’t the only cute six- or eight-legged critters that you’ll find on the planet. A variety of insects will make you swoon with their google eyes, fuzzy bodies and colorful markings. If you are squeamish around bugs, you may agree that the cutest bugs deserve to be left alone instead of on the bottom of your shoe.

5 Happy-Face Spider

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You can find the happy-face spider, or Theridion grallator, greeting you on the Hawaiian Islands. The spider has a translucent yellow or pale green color and its abdomen has a red, crescent shape outlined in black that looks like a smile. Above the smile are four dots that look like eyes and eyebrows. When you see this little guy, you can’t help but smile back.

4 Baby Grasshopper

Grasshoppers can wreak havoc on your garden, but the babies are so cute that you might want to overlook their nibbling on your plants. Baby grasshoppers are light emerald green, have two giant eyes on each side of their heads and stripy antennas. They’re also covered with soft filaments that give them a fuzzy, cuddly look.

3 Damselfly

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The damselfly is the dragonfly’s smaller dainty cousin. This insect comes in an array of vivid colors, like electric blue, and has two large mesmerizing eyes on each side of its head. Unlike the dragonfly, the damselfly closes its wings while it rests so they’re parallel to its body, and its forewing looks similar to the hind wing. Like the ladybug, the damselfly is a beneficial insect that eats garden pests. You can find them around lakes, ponds, rivers and inviting water features.

2 Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

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The life of a caterpillar involves mostly eating and resting before turning into a butterfly or moth. The spicebush swallowtail caterpillar and some other caterpillar species developed the look of two big eyes on their heads to mimic the look of snakes. To humans, the big puppy dog eyes make the caterpillars look more like something straight out of a cartoon.

1 Ladybug

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When you see a ladybug, don’t tell it to fly away home. Ladybugs are a cute beetle with the iconic black head and red body with black polka dots. Some ladybugs, however, have orange bodies with black dots or black bodies with a couple of bright red dots. They’re so stylish! This critter is a beneficial insect that will eat soft-bodied pests in your garden, like aphids and grubs. According to the National Geographic website, many cultures think that ladybugs bring good luck.